That now makes three different men who have come forward and claimed that Fine abused them when they were younger.

For Syracuse, it became obvious that they needed to do something quickly to avoid a situation that bears some similarities to Penn State.

Fine, who was in his 36th year at the school, continues to plead his innocence, but things aren’t looking good for him.

The Orange turned the ball over 18 times, which is pretty uncharacteristic of them, and it came back to haunt them.

Dion Waiters came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 18 points. Kris Joseph was the only other player to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points.

Syracuse shot over 55 percent from the field, but only 33 percent from three-point range and attempted just seven free throws.

It’s a very disappointing way for the Orange to end their season, especially considering how well they played in the Big East.

Rick Jackson scored a season-high 23 points and freshman C.J. Fair added 14 points for the Orange.

Syracuse opened up an eight-point lead by halftime and didn’t allow the Sycamores to hang around in the second half.

The Orange will take on a familiar opponent in the next round, matching up against conference foe Marquette.

If the Orange can manage to get past Marquette, a likely showdown with powerhouse North Carolina looms large.

Scoop Jardine lead the Orange with 17 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Rick Jackson added 12.

Syracuse lead most of the way until Georgetown made a push in the final minutes of the game.

In the end, the Orange found a way to make just a few more plays than the Hoyas and ice the game away despite shooting just 61 percent from the free throw line.

It was a huge road win for the Orange, who hope their zone defense can cause a lot of problems in the NCAA tournament.

March is the time every college basketball team hopes to play its best basketball, and the Syracuse Orange hit the third month of 2011 on a roll.

The Orange closed February with four wins in a row, even more impressive considering Syracuse is part of the rugged Big East Conference, a league which features eight teams ranked in the top 19 this week.

Syracuse is 12th in the national polls, and sits tied for fifth with No. 15 St. John’s in the Big East, three games behind conference leader and fifth-ranked Pittsburgh.

The Orange have won two in a row against ranked teams, both coming on the road: victories at Villanova and at Georgetown to close February.

Syracuse wraps up the regular season Saturday against unranked DePaul. The Orange then head to New York City for next week’s Big East tournament, with the NCAA tournament to follow.

—30—

A couple of questionable calls in the final minute allowed Louisville to hang onto the lead, infuriating head coach Jim Boeheim.

At one point, Boeheim protested so vehemently that it looked as though he might receive a technical foul.

Brandon Triche lead the Orange with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. Scoop Jardine added 20.

Syracuse is all but assured of making the NCAA tournament, but their seed has taken a huge hit the past few weeks.

Scoop Jardine finished with 13 points and 13 assists to lead the Orange, who will likely tumble out of the top 10.

Syracuse worked hard to eliminate an 11-point halftime deficit, but the hill was just too steep to climb.

Head coach Jim Boeheim wasn’t happy with his team’s effort defensively, which has been a problem of late.

The Syracuse 2-3 zone is usually tough to penetrate, but teams have been scoring almost at will of late.

The Orange was the beneficiary of a questionable call that cost Kansas State a legitimate shot to tie the game.

Because of an unsportsmanlike penalty, the Wildcats had to try and score the game-tying two-point conversion from the 18-yard line.

Syracuse was able to force the incompletion with just over one minute to play, and held on for the win.

Quarterback Ryan Nassib lead the way with 239 yards passing and three touchdowns. Running back Delone Carter had 196 yards rushing and two scores.

While the Orange had a disappointing finish, no one can argue with Boeheim’s impressive coaching job.

The Orange lost a number of key stars off of last year’s team, a couple of which are now in the NBA.

Instead of rebuilding the program, Boeheim just reloaded around a mixed group of veterans and young players.

He guided Syracuse to the Big East regular season championship and an appearance in the Sweet 16.

Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone actually did it’s job, forcing Butler into a terrible night shooting from behind the arc.

Unfortunately, the Orange turned the ball over 18 times to give Butler plenty of fast-break points.

Syracuse was considered the favorite to get to the national championship game, along with Kentucky, after Kansas went down.

The team was without their starting center for the tournament, but it’s still a very disappointing loss after such a strong season.